A hulk of a man-child, left-handed Rube Waddell won six consecutive strikeout titles, two ERA titles, and anchored Connie Mack's pitching staffs that won the 1902 and 1905 AL flags. He possessed an excellent fastball, a sharp curve, and superb control. His eccentric behavior led to constant battles with his managers and teammates, and he died tragically at the age of 37 in a mental institution.

Quotes About Rube Waddell"He was the aom bomb of baseball long before the atom bomb was discovered..." — Connie Mack, in his biography My 66 Years in the Big Leagues

Best Season: 1904Used in 46 games, Waddell threw eight shutouts, posting a 1.62 ERA. He went just 25-19 (talk about lack of support), pitching 383 innings, allowing 307 hits and 91 walks. Just five homers were hit off the big lefty - and he struck out a then league record 349 batters. Not until Sandy Koufax would a southpaw throw some many K's in one season.

FactsRube Waddell and Eddie Plank together won 267 games for the A's from 1902 through 1907, accounting for 56 percent of the team's victories.

The Odd CoupleWaddell roomed for some time with catcher Ossee Schreckengost, but the two ended up in many crazy quarrels. Schreckengost hated Waddell's habit of eating in bed. One of Rube's favorite snacks was limburger cheese sandwiches, which left a less than desirable odor in their room. Waddell also enjoyed munching on crunchy animal crackers. Schreckengost refused to sign his 1903 contract until it included a clause forbidding Waddell from eating crackers in bed.

Mack: Lefty Better than RubeConnie Mack managed some of baseball's greatest left-handed pitchers. He saw the best come and go, but in 1931, he compared his top three southpaws for an article in The Sporting News.

"Waddell was a remarkable pitcher. We all know that. But he wasn't dependable. He didn't take care of himself. Grove isn't that way. Lefty's always in condition. He's as dependable as the tides... He's faster than Waddell, too."

"Don't think now that I'm taking anything away from Rube. He had the most perfect overhand delivery I have ever seen on a lefthander. When he delivered the ball he brought his hand down right alongside his head. he threw his curve that way as well as his fast one."

Mack didn't forget about one of his favorite big-game pitchers, either.

Post-Season NotesThe A's lost the World Series in 1905 to the Giants, as Waddell was sidelined with an arm injury he suffered while wrestling a teammate. Rumors also circulated that Waddell didn't pitch because he accepted a $17,000 bribe from gamblers to sit out. Connie Mack refuted that charge to his dying day, but the rumor followed Waddell until his death.

Awards and Honors1905 AL Triple Crown

FeatsWaddell failed to pitch a no-hitter, but he did defeat Cy Young, 4-2, in a 20-inning game on July 4, 1905. In a remarkable 1900 doubleheader, he won both the 17-inning first game and the second game, 1-0.

TransactionsMay, 1901: Purchased by the Chicago Orphans from the Pittsburgh Pirates; Before 1902 Season: Jumped from the Chicago Orphans to the Philadelphia Athletics; February 7, 1908: Purchased by the St. Louis Browns from the Philadelphia Athletics.

Best Strength as a PlayerHis fastball, which was the fastest of his era, until his arm injury in 1905.

Largest Weakness as a PlayerHis focus. It has been speculated that Waddell may have been retarded, or have a learning disability. Whatever it was, it kept him from staying focused on his career. He was constantly disappearing. Connie Mack once hired a private detective to keep tabs on the lefty.

Personality issuesWaddell was unpredictable, and had a habit of leaving the dugout in the middle of games to follow passing fire trucks to fires. He performed as an alligator wrestler in the offseason. He was easily distracted by opposing team fans who used to hold up puppies and shiny objects, which seemed to put Waddell in a trance on the mound. An alcoholic for much of his adult life, Waddell reportedly spent the entirety of his first signing bonus on a drinking binge (Sporting News called him "the sousepaw"). Waddell's eccentric behavior led to constant battles with his managers and scuffles with bad-tempered teammates, and complaints from his teammates forced his trade from Philadelphia to St. Louis in early 1908 despite his importance to the team and his continued success. Recent commentators (such as Bill James) have suggested that Waddell may have suffered from a developmental disability, mental retardation, autism, or attention deficit disorder (ADD). Essentially, none of these mental issues was either known of or properly diagnosed at the time. Though eccentric and childlike, Rube Waddell was not illiterate (as some sources have claimed). Ken Burns' baseball documentary claims Waddell lost track of how many women he'd married.

James wrote that Waddell would not be allowed to be himself today, but would be analyzed, compartmentalized and would not be allowed to compete anywhere save for "heaving a rubber-tipped javelin in the Special Olympics."

Walter Johnson said of Waddell:

* "In my opinion, and I suppose if there is any subject that I am qualified to discuss it is pitching, Rube Waddell had more sheer pitching ability than any man I ever saw. That doesn't say he was the greatest pitcher, by a good deal. Rube had defects of character that prevented him from using his talents to the best effect. He is dead and gone, so there is no need for me to enlarge on his weaknesses. They were well enough known. I would prefer to dwell on his strong points. And he had plenty."

Alan Howard Levy, in his book Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist, wrote:

* "He was among the game's first real drawing cards, among its first honest-to-goodness celebrities, and the first player to have teams of newspaper reporters following him, and the first to have a mass following of idol-worshiping kids yelling out his nickname like he was their buddy."

* "He began that year (1903) sleeping in a firehouse in Camden, New Jersey, and ended it tending bar in a saloon in Wheeling, West Virginia. In between those events he won 22 games for the Philadelphia Athletics, played left end for the Business Men's Rugby Football Club of Grand Rapids, Michigan, toured the nation in a melodrama called The Stain of Guilt, courted, married and became separated from May Wynne Skinner of Lynn, Massachusetts, saved a woman from drowning, accidentally shot a friend through the hand, and was bitten by a lion."

Highlights

* Won Triple Crown for pitchers (1905: 27–10, 287, 1.48) * 4-time 20-game winner (24, 21, 25, 27: 1902–05) * Two ERA titles (1900, 1905), along with two second-place finishes in the category * Six consecutive AL strikeout titles (1902–07), and five consecutive strikeout titles (1903–07) in the entire Major Leagues. * Led his league eight times in strikeouts per nine innings (1900, 1902–1908; he finished second in 1901) * Set league record for strikeouts in a game up to that time (16, 1908) * Set record for strikeouts in a season for an AL lefty (349, 1904) * On July 1, 1902, Waddell became the second pitcher to strike out three batters on nine pitches, in the third inning of a 2–0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. * Collected 50 shutouts.

Trivia

* Waddell was the opposing pitcher for Cy Young's perfect game on May 5, 1904, and hit a flyball for the final out. In 1905, Waddell beat Young in a 20-inning game. In 1907, the two men pitched a scoreless 13-inning tie. What is lost to many is that Rube and Young could have been teammates. According to "Just a Big Kid: The Life and Times of Rube Waddell", Rube was signed to pitch for Fort Wayne, a minor league team with ties to the Cleveland Spiders. For whatever reason, Rube never pitched there – perhaps his parents would not let him. Had he succeeded, though, he likely would have joined the Spiders and been a teammate of Young at the beginning of his career. * Rube Marquard, according to his own story, acquired his nickname when a writer compared him favorably to Waddell. * On August 19, 1900, Waddell pitched the first game of a doubleheader for Milwaukee, winning in the 17th inning on his own triple. His manager, Connie Mack, offered Waddell a three-day fishing vacation if he agreed to pitch the second game (which had been shortened to 5 innings). Waddell threw 5 scoreless innings for the victory, and headed to Pewaukee Lake for fishing. Waddell also won both halves of a 1902 doubleheader (relieving in the second game). * Waddell was so bad at holding onto money that the A's once paid him in dollar bills, in the hopes that he would spend it more slowly. Half of his contract was given directly to his wife, while the rest was doled out as Rube needed it. According to Just a Big Kid: The Life and Times of Rube Waddell (Paul Proia, PublishAmerica 2007), the practice of paying Rube in small amounts dated to his time in Pittsburgh where Barney Dreyfuss paid Rube in smaller amounts and Rube would "touch" his owners for cash as he needed it. * A provision in Waddell's contract—inserted at his catcher's insistence—prohibited Waddell from eating crackers in bed. (Players shared beds on road trips.) * On July 29, 1908, Waddell set the AL strikeout record with 16 in a game. This took place against his former Philadelphia A's team, which had traded him away five months earlier as a disruptive influence. * Jimmy Austin has claimed that, in 1909, he hit a home run off of a tipsy Waddell who then glared angrily at him during his entire trot around the bases. However, maintaining the 360-degree pivot made Waddell dizzy, and he passed out on the mound. Evidence indicates, however, that this story could not have happened as Jimmy Austin described it.[4] Austin likely merged three different games against Waddell into one memory. In their first meeting, Austin banged out a triple to the deepest part of center field in the first inning, but was stranded by Waddell, who retired the rest of the batters in order. In their second meeting, Waddell was removed from a game after being hit by a batted ball. In their third meeting, Austin likely faced a Waddell who had been bored by playing for a poor Browns club. In that game, Austin batted with runners on first and second and bunted. Rube twisted as he threw to third—and got the force out. However, he feigned injury and appeared less than cooperative to manager Jimmy McAleer, so McAleer pulled Waddell from the game. Oddly, Austin was removed from the bases when he tried to advance an extra base on a single to left field. * Waddell led his league in strikeouts in every season from 1902 through 1907. During this six-year stretch, he had 1,576 strikeouts, while the aggregate total of all six runners-up was 1,180.

Other sports

While a member of the Athletics, Waddell also played professional football in the first National Football League in 1902. He played as a fullback for the Philadelphia Athletics. Newspapers of the time charitably referred to Waddell as "eccentric" while others ranked him between "screwball" and "nutsy." When football began, Connie saw a chance to keep his star in line for a few months more. He signed the lefty on as an extra lineman, against Waddell's recommendation that he be placed at halfback. While there is no mention of Waddell’s name in any lineups or game accounts, Wallace may have let the lefty into a few games when the score was safe. Regardless, it was no secret to anyone that the Rube was there to be watched. Mack was still more committed to baseball than football and worried more about losing Rube Waddell than any football game. In Elmira, Waddell was tempted to remain in a town that was home to one of the biggest manufacturers of fire engines, which he loved. Mack had to convince Rube to stay with the team.

The night before the first championship game with Pittsburgh, Connie caught Rube sneaking into the hotel long after curfew. After being delivered a lecture by Mack, Waddell turned return to his hotel room. However, a loaded pistol dropped out of his pocket and fired. The bullet missed Mack's head by inches.

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